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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25820473">Darlin' Doris</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Band of Brothers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Relationship, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Pre-Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:53:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>990</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25820473</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Look, Babe, there's a helluva lot more to life than those broads back home. I'll take you out this weekend. You ain't never gonna have to think about ol' Doris again."<br/>When one door closes, another one opens an ocean away.<br/>___</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bill Guarnere/Babe Heffron</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Darlin' Doris</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bill found himself lucky that the man he had been looking for sat right behind him as some sing song story rang on as entertainment for his fellow men. Laughter filled the air as Bill thought of how he could ask if he had the right guy. Surely he did. He was a red head, irish, probably catholic, south philly boy. No way it wasn't this guy, he walked and talked like he represented the whole city of Philadelphia. And he's handsome. The type of guy that had a soft but stern face, kind eyes, and was built sturdy.<br/>
What really snapped Bill out of his thoughts was when he heard Babe speak.</p>
<p>"I'm headin' back to barracks" he said. Bill took this opportunity to swing himself over his bench and place a solid hand on Babe's chest, stopping him in his tracks.</p>
<p>"You Heffron?" Bill asked. He wasn't looking for a fight, but Babe look damn ready for one.</p>
<p>"Yeah." Babe said</p>
<p>"Where you from?" Bill asked.</p>
<p>"Who's askin'" Babe asked. He must've thought that for a man with a hand on his chest, Bill was asking a helluva lot of questions. Still, that's never stopped Bill before.</p>
<p>"You from Philadelphia?" He asked</p>
<p>"South Philly, yeah" Babe responded.</p>
<p>"I could tell." Bill said, and with that Babe looked like he was about ready to start defending South Philly's honor in the middle of this mess hall. Bill dropped his hand and clarified, "17th street."<br/>
Babe's expression softened in realization. Honestly, he was probably happy to finally meet someone near home. Everyone seemed a bit homesick nowadays.</p>
<p>"Yeah? Front Street!" Babe said, extending his hand to shake Bill's. A tension from the men around them, that, honestly, Bill hadn't even noticed, released as he enthusiastically shook Babe's hand. A greeting cheer rang out from his table as Bill invited Babe to sit down.<br/>
They talked on friends back home, local news, and their families. It was weird, how close they had been their entire lives, having never met once. Almost stranger is throughout their conversation of back home, family, and friends, not once did either of them bring up a girl.</p>
<p>•••</p>
<p>It was wrong, Bill told himself, to be so mesmerized by the appearance of another man. Even still, he couldn't bring himself to look away from Babe staring up up at the plane that would soon take them to another drop zone. He would've assumed the boy was just worried about the mission, until he got a bit closer and saw the gorgeous woman painted on the side. As he approached, Bill stuck out his elbow and nudged Babe a few times.<br/>
"Ain't she somethin'?" Bill asked<br/>
"She's somethin' alright..." Babe said, low and quiet, a sort of grumble. Bill looked him over and scrunched his face in a moment of confusion.<br/>
"Thought you liked these kinda girls. See, a fella like me can go for any girl, but a fella like yous got em lined up around the block. Gotta be chosey" Bill said. He looked up at the painting again, looking a bit closer to see if there was something he was missing. "Hey, Doris! Ain't that the name of your girl back home?"<br/>
"Nah, she sent me a letter, got it a bit ago. Leavin' me for a fella that stayed back in the states..." Babe said, digging the toe of his shoe into the gravel beneath their feet. Guarnere looked over at him, raised a sympathetic hand and set it on Babe's back. Without much else to say with comfort, at least not surrounded by men pushing from all directions, the two of them stared up at the plane.</p>
<p>•••</p>
<p>It had yet to even reach nightfall, though the sun was low in the sky. Bill stayed close walking with Babe back to barracks. There was mostly silence, other than the distant chirping of birds and the crunching dirt that seemed to be the deafening ring of the silence between them.<br/>
"Look, Babe, there's a helluva lot more to life than those broads back home. I'll take you out this weekend. You ain't never gonna have to think about ol' Doris again." Bill said, hoping to set aside the silence. Babe seemed hesitant to respond, as if he were trying to map out a way to tell Bill the world's best kept secret. Not that there was a secret Bill didn't already know.<br/>
"She ain't meant much to me," Babe said after a few moments "Never cared much for those relationships anyways. Always preferred hanging around the guys anyways."<br/>
Bill looked over at Babe, who just looked straight ahead. He nodded and looked ahead as well.<br/>
"Ain't never met a man like you, Babe" Guarnere said "'Cept when I'm lookin' in the mirror, I suppose."<br/>
"What're'ya sayin'?" Babe asked, looking over at Bill causiously. There's a certain level of hope and faith that goes into moments like this. Trust above all else. Trusting that your gut is right. Trusting that you read the room right and you won't get dishonorably discharged.<br/>
"Snuck a lot of skirts into training. Snuck a lot of fellas too. There ain't a man back home that'd prefer to hang out with men in place of a pretty dame, y'know that?"<br/>
"I don't know, I've met a few." Babe said "You just ain't hangin' around the right fellas."<br/>
"Suppose I should hang around fellas like you more often then, huh?" Bill said "Ones that walk and talk like they represent the whole city of Philadelphia without ever steppin' outside of his own backyard?"<br/>
"Hell, Bill, I'd hang out with you any time." Babe said<br/>
"This weekend then? Already promised I'd take out out, make you forget about Old Darlin' Doris." Bill said "Take you out to a bar, go site seeing, order a room even."<br/>
"Yeah?" Babe asked, a small smile forming, turning the corners of his lips up "Sounds like fun."</p>
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